Sunday, February 7, 2010

TANDBERG First to Demonstrate Immersive Three-Screen Telepresence Interoperability with Cisco TelePresence

TANDBERG Total Telepresence solution delivers additional immersive third-party telepresence interoperability capabilities for expanded company-to-company collaboration.


TANDBERG (OSLO: TAA.OL) announced it has successfully demonstrated telepresence interoperability between TANDBERG Telepresence and the Cisco CTS 3000. This demonstration, the first of its kind, was enabled by integrating Cisco's new Telepresence Interoperability Protocol (TIP) into the award-winning TANDBERG Telepresence Server. With this integration, TANDBERG now adds Cisco TelePresence solutions to the list of third-party telepresence solutions it can seamlessly interoperate with while maintaining the three-screen, high-definition telepresence experience.

"As we build a global video community, it is imperative that organizations are not locked in by technology," said Fredrik Halvorsen, TANDBERG CEO. "Our Total Telepresence solution is interoperable with a broad range of third-party solutions, including those from Polycom and Microsoft. We are very happy to now deliver even greater value to our customers by bringing participants on TANDBERG Telepresence and Cisco TelePresence together with an immersive, three-screen experience. Today's demonstration reflects TANDBERG's continued commitment to open standards, providing scalable solutions and protecting our customers' video investments for the future."

According to Frost & Sullivan, although many companies initially think of telepresence as a substitute for the corporate jet, the technology holds even more value when it can seamlessly link to other video conferencing solutions - within and outside of an organization - to ensure all necessary participants can attend any meeting. TANDBERG customers have seen the exponential value of interoperability between third-party telepresence and video conferencing for company-to-company collaboration while maintaining the best experience possible. TANDBERG is consistently the first to deliver the most advanced interoperability solutions to the market, demonstrated by:

* TANDBERG first to demonstrate a multi-screen, high-definition telepresence call with Cisco TelePresence CTS 3000 (see video).

* TANDBERG first to deliver a telepresence solution that can interoperate with third-party telepresence systems while maintaining the immersive telepresence experience.

* TANDBERG first to enable high definition video between Microsoft Office Communicator and immersive multi-screen telepresence.

* TANDBERG first to deliver a complete portfolio of HD telepresence and video conferencing solutions that can interoperate with any other standards compliant systems both within an organization and company-to-company.

Interoperability with Cisco CTS 3000 and other Cisco systems will be available through a software upgrade to the TANDBERG Telepresence Server later this year. For more information about the TANDBERG Total Telepresence solution, visit http://www.tandberg.com or call or contact moreinfo@TANDBERG.com .
About TANDBERG

TANDBERG is the leading global provider of telepresence, high-definition video conferencing and mobile video products and services with dual headquarters in New York and Norway. TANDBERG designs, develops and markets systems and software for video, voice and data. The company provides sales, support and value-added services in more than 90 countries worldwide. TANDBERG is publicly traded on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker TAA.OL. Please visit http://www.tandberg.com for more information.

TANDBERG is a trademark or registered trademark in the U.S. and other countries. All other product and company names here in may be trademarks of their respective owners.

NTT Communications Corp. Selects Sandvine

Sandvine, (TSX: SVC)(AIM: SAND) a leading provider of intelligent broadband network solutions for Cable, DSL, FTTx, fixed wireless and mobile operators, today announced that NTT Communications Corporation, Japan's leading provider of global networks, management solutions and ICT services, has selected Sandvine's Policy Traffic Switch (PTS) for a nationwide deployment on their high speed network. The latest win builds on NTT Communications' purchases in previous periods.


Sandvine's PTS platform provides a layer of intelligence into broadband and wireless networks offering operators meaningful business-level information for market creation, quota management and capacity planning.

"We are delighted to be selected by NTT Communications after a rigorous technical review," Dave Caputo, President and CEO, Sandvine. "Our platform and applications were tried and tested to ensure they meet the usage demands of close to eight million subscribers on NTT Communications' network-another demonstration that Sandvine offers the most proven high-performance platform available today."

Sandvine's PTS platform scales to meet the demands of the world's largest service providers' networks with unique virtual switch cluster technology.
ABOUT NTT COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION

NTT Communications provides a broad range of global networks, management solutions and IT services to customers worldwide. The company is renowned for reliable, high-quality security, hosting, voice, data and IP services, as well as expertise in managed networks and leadership in IPv6 transit technology. NTT Communications' extensive infrastructure includes Arcstar(TM) Global IP-VPN and

Global e-VLAN, as well as a Tier-1 IP backbone reaching more than 150 countries in partnership with major Internet service providers, and secure data centers in Asia, North America and Europe. NTT Communications is the wholly-owned subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, one of the world's largest telecoms with

listings on the Tokyo, London and New York stock exchanges. Please visit www.ntt.com/index-e.html.
ABOUT SANDVINE

Sandvine is focused on protecting and improving the quality of experience on the Internet. Our award-winning network equipment and solutions help cable, DSL, FTTx, fixed wireless and mobile operators better serve their subscribers and understand network trends; offer new services; mitigate malicious traffic; manage network congestion; and deliver QoS-prioritized multimedia services. With broadband service provider customers in over 70 countries serving hundreds of millions of fixed and mobile subscribers, Sandvine is enhancing the Internet experience worldwide. www.sandvine.com
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements in this release constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws and are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of such laws. In particular, this release refers to the selection of Sandvine's technology by a particular customer, however, there is no guarantee that this selection decision will result in an actual purchase or any meaningful level of revenue to Sandvine and Sandvine's stated expectations as to the timing of deployment of the technology by this customer are based solely on the customer's current projections, which may change at any time. In addition, statements related to potential benefits of, and demand for, Sandvine's products or services including statements with respect to the features and benefits that may be achieved through the use of Sandvine's products or services and the relative position of these products vis-a-vis competitive offerings in the industry are forward-looking statements which are subject to certain assumptions, risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include such factors as rapid technological changes, changes in customer architecture and equipment deployment requirements, the introduction of competing technologies, the risks and uncertainties of new product introductions, dependence on key supplies and other similar factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of

Sandvine to differ materially from the results, performance, achievements or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. Sandvine assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Friday, January 29, 2010

FCF to Rebound in Asia-Pacific's Telecom Sector in 2010

Fitch Ratings has today said in a just published report that the 2010 outlook for the overall Asia-Pacific telecom sector remains stable. "Most operators will be able to continue to weather any adverse economic conditions and maintain their credit profiles thanks to robust liquidity, relatively low gearing, and strong free cash flow (FCF) generation," says Matt Jamieson, Senior Director and Head of Fitch's Asia Pacific Telecoms Media and Technology team. Although competitive factors look set to drive revenue growth and margins lower in 2010E, curtailed capital expenditure budgets are likely to result in higher FCF generation for the average Asia-Pacific telecom operator.


Fitch expects top-line revenues for the 23 telecom operators it rates across Asia Pacific to rise by an average of only 2.7% in 2010E, which, although up from the prior year, is well below 2008's 7.7%. "Whereas average revenue growth has historically remained above GDP growth, the sector appears to have reached an inflexion point in 2009 - with average revenue growth below the weighted average Asia-Pacific country GDP growth of 1.9%," adds Mr. Jamieson. "While the economic downturn may play a small part, rising penetration levels and tariff-discounting in emerging markets, including China India, Indonesia and Thailand, are the more important factors keeping a lid on the average telecom operator's revenue growth in 2010," adds Mr. Jamieson.

The average EBITDA margin for Asia-Pacific telecom operators is estimated to have fallen to 38.9% in 2009E from 40.2% in 2008, and the agency anticipates that ongoing competitive pressures will result in a further decline to 38.0% in 2010E. Cash flow from operations (CFO) remains strong; and with aggregate capex likely to fall (particularly in Australia, China, India and Indonesia), the agency expects a 61% increase in aggregate FCF generation during 2010. However the agency forecasts the median operator among the 23 to generate slightly negative FCF; and, in conjunction with falling EBITDA margins, Fitch feels that the median leverage ratio (as measured by adjusted net debt/EBITDAR) will actually increase to 1.7x (2009: 1.5x).

While credit metrics may deteriorate slightly in 2010, Fitch believes that, in general, most operators' financial profiles will remain comfortable for their current rating levels.

The report, entitled "Asia Pacific Telecoms Credit Outlook 2010", is now available on the agency's website, www.fitchratings.com. The report also contains 11 one-page country summary outlooks covering the major credit issues for the agency's rated telecom issuers across the region.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

AIS ANNOUNCES 2010 VISION ON TELECOMS INDUSTRY INTRODUCING THE CONCEPT “ECOSYSTEM,”

AIS ANNOUNCES 2010 VISION ON TELECOMS INDUSTRY INTRODUCING THE CONCEPT “ECOSYSTEM,” COOPERATION, DEPENDENCE AND GROWTH TOGETHER FOR HIGHEST BENEFIT OF THAI PEOPLE


AIS announces 2010 Vision on Telecoms Industry, introducing the concept Ecosystem - the ecosystem of communication world gearing towards synergy, dependence and growth together, delivering highest benefits to every group of Thai consumers, riding the trend of communication technology convergence featuring “Total Communication.”

The management team of Advanced Info Service (Public) Co., Ltd., led by Mr. Somprasong Boonyachai, Vice Chairman Of The Board Mr. Wichian Mektrakarn, CEO and Mr. Somchai Lertsuttiwong, EVP Marketing, co-host the public conference on the overall picture of telecoms industry and AIS direction emphasizing orchestrated cooperation with alliance just like the ecosystem.

In 2009, the telecom usage of Thai people recorded a significant growth, particularly in mobile Internet, wireless Internet and Broadband Internet, reflecting consumer behavior obviously switching to convergence service. They use mobile phone to call, connect Internet, watch TV, download music, upload photos or videos to Social Network and Chat through BlackBerry. This formulates a “Total Communication.” AIS has developed service in tandem with such behavior. Besides retaining No. 1 Mobile Operator, today AIS plays increasing roles as;

- Largest distribution channel of Digital Music with over 20 million downloads, 60% of which represent the download through Call Center.

- Largest Internet Service Provider (ISP) with over 6.5 million Mobile Phone Internet users

- Pioneer of Lifestyle for consumers in entering the experience of Mobile Email, Social Networking through Smart Phone such as BlackBerry occupying over 100,000 users.

- Market builder for Wireless Internet by launching AIS Aircard serving over 300,000 customers, or over 20% of Internet use in Thailand.

Mr. Somprasong unveiled “For the year 2010, demand and usage behavior will remain the same as in the past year. More concentration and enhancement will be placed in Mobile Internet, Broadband and download service via wireless network. To deliver services that completely meet demand, every part associated with telecommunication industry need to capitalize on its best resource to work in harmony and proceed together in the orchestrated uniform, depend on each other and promote Seamless Connection featuring Ecosystem – the Ecosystem of communication world in an effort to creating collaborative service providing optimal solution for consumers as well as contributing to the reinforcement of country’s telecoms industry.

With regard to the composition of Ecosystem, Mr. Wichian added “Initially, we look into 5 integral parts including Device, Customer Assistant, Content Partners, Solution Partners and Business Alliances from a broad spectrum of industry. The collaboration incorporated by the proposed concept is believed to liberate the frame of telecommunication services, give unexpected experience from best quality, enhance business management efficiency and render privileges upgrading living standard of consumers.”

“However, to ensure the unsurpassed services provided by strong commitment, network quality serves as the key and solid fundamentals. Over the past 20 years, AIS has ceaselessly developed its network recognized as “Most trusted network” as a result of service coverage coming with network quality as well as convergence of Wireless and Wired-line technology. Lately, AIS is considered the only Mobile Operator offering widest 3G service area following the cooperation with TOT (Public) Co., Ltd., the Concession Owner. AIS customers have options to access wireless Internet service via EDGE/GPRS network embracing nationwide coverage and 3G of 900 MHz and 2100 MHz frequency”

Mr. Somchai stressed the benefits of consumers “When the fundamentals are well prepared, the functionalities based on Ecosystem will continue productively, shape service formats and fuel the growth of telecommunications industry due to the harmonious and balanced living of all parties. For example, the marketing of communication device will include not only the sourcing of superb handsets for customers, but also the synergy between Service Providers tailoring service packages and customized contents as well as solutions that bring ultimately exclusive experiences. This exemplifies how the working concept is materialized.”

In the AIS Vision 2010, AIS introduces some services from the cooperation with Partners, such as;

1. Nokia N900, the latest Smart Phone from Nokia that allows AIS customers to gain great experience from Internet Application and bundling package

2. BlackBerry New Bold, the latest innovation from BlackBerry, available for reservation today

3. AIS 3G Aircard 7 Mbps, the fastest Wireless Broadband connection to the Internet

4. AIS App Store connecting AIS customers to the unlimited world of Contents coming with a broad array of Applications to choose from
5. MSN SIM, a direct connection to MSN from your handsets
6. Mobile Pay wave Actual creating Contactless Mobile Payment Service
7. Variety Superior Privilege from various exclusive for AIS customer only

“As the Total Telecoms Service Leader, we strongly believe in the power of all players related to this industry and will be ready to play an intermediary role in rendering best services from the collaboration under the concept Ecosystem to every group of consumers. Not only will this paradigm shift benefit people, but also propel sustainable growth of Thai telecommunications industry.”

Sunday, January 17, 2010

dtac responds to the social networking trend by preparing dtac Internet especially to serve New Year greetings

Pakorn Pannachet, Head of dtac’s VAS Division, said dtac prepared its nationwide network to support traffic during the New Year. dtac realizes that the 3 main social networking systems namely Facebook, Twitter and BBM (BlackBerry Messaging) are the very quickly accelerating trend of 2009 while SMS and MMS are still gaining in popularity compared with last year.


“We have seen the increasing use of smart phones throughout this year. At present dtac customers use 400,000-500,000 smart phones and we believe that New Year greetings via smart phones should focus on social networking especially through Facebook and Twitter. In Thailand about 1.7 million people are using Facebook and about 60,000 people are doing Twitter. For the dtac customers who uses dtac’s BlackBerry Service, we have prepared our network to support more convenient and faster BBM use in Thailand through dtac Internet.”

“SMS and MMS should not be less popular than they were in the past years. We expect New Year greetings via SMS to increase from 49.95 million messages last year to about 65-70 million messages and those via MMS should rise from 656,000 messages last year to about 800,000-1 million messages. dtac has prepared its systems to support the transmission of 7,500 messages per second, up from the normal capacity of 2,000 messages per second. So customers are assured that dtac’s network can meet their demands limitlessly,” Pakorn said.

Besides, dtac has also prepared its network by increasing channel capacities at New Year celebration venues in major provinces of all regions. For Bangkok, it has prepared mobile units and increased the capacities of base stations to serve communication traffic surges in several areas including bus terminals, airports and highways leading to other provinces.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

TrueMove Teams Up With Japan’s Mediaseek to Launch QR Code Reader Application in Thailand Paving the way to a new TrueMove 3G experience

To reinforce its position as Thailand’s most innovative service provider, TrueMove today officially launched QR Code technology in Thailand in collaboration with Mediaseek, Japan’s leading QR Code company. This new innovation will pave the way towards 3G services in the future and give customers a new experience in accessing content and services. With TrueMove’s “Fun Living Lifestyle” concept, Thai consumers can now easily access content via camera phones such as music downloads or watch TV and receive special privileges. The QR Code opens a new era of exciting Interactive marketing campaigns and unique promotions. Learn more about QR Code and TrueMove 3G and get a chance to win an iPhone 3G S by visiting www.truemove.com/3G from December 15, 2009 – January 15, 2010. Consumers can now experience QR Code and download the free QR Code Reader application onto their camera phones by visiting http://m.truelife.com


The QR Code (also known as a matrix code) is a two-dimensional bar code that a mobile phone equipped with special software can read using its camera, a process called mobile tagging. Information embedded in the QR code such as a URL can then launch the mobile phone’s browser, establishing a hardlink to any location on the Internet. By simply taking a photo of a QR Code on a poster, advertisement, display or practically anywhere, TrueMove customers can automatically access related content over the Internet via their mobile phones without having to type the necessary details or the URL.

According to Mr. Piroon Paireepairit, Director, Multimedia Services Content & Marketing, True Corporation Plc., “Our company’s exclusive collaboration with Mediaseek brings one of the most popular and trendy mobile phone applications in Japan to the Thai market. TrueMove, Thailand’s leading communications innovator, is delighted to offer Thai consumers the opportunity join the QR Code revolution under the concept of ‘Fun Living Lifestyle.’ They will be able to access content such as news updates and music downloads as well as watch TV or music videos and receive special privileges easily by using their camera phones to scan QR Codes from marketing materials such as posters, leaflets and point-of-purchase displays. TrueMove has already started using QR Codes to promote its 3G trial service, and customers will enjoy an increasing number of special benefits as we integrate QR Codes into a variety of other lifestyle applications.”

“Mediaseek is a fully-integrated IT solution provider company, and our QR Code reader software holds the number one share in the Japanese mobile phone market,” said Mr. Naoki Nishio, President & CEO of Mediaseek Inc. “We have exclusive rights for the “i-nigma” service, which is based on the most widely-used mobile barcode reader in Japan and has been redesigned for overseas mobile phone handsets. We are pleased to partner with TrueMove to offer our breakthrough QR Code technology to Thai consumers.”

Developed in Japan, QR Codes are very popular among Japanese mobile phone users for marketing campaigns, recording data such as addresses or providing information for almost any other purpose. QR Codes can also activate SMS for response messages, offering a new level of interactive mobile marketing. QR Code reader software can run on all major mobile phone platforms.

To experience using QR Codes, TrueMove customers can download the free reader software onto their camera phones by visiting http://m.truelife.com and participate in the special marketing campaign to win an iPhone 3G S at www.truemove.com/3G from December 15, 2009 – January 15, 2010.

QR Code® is registered trademarks of Denso Wave Incorporated in Japan and other countries.

TeliaSonera and Huawei Launch World’s Fastest Commercial Mobile Broadband Network with Huawei’s 4G/LTE Solutions

TeliaSonera and Huawei Launch World’s Fastest Commercial Mobile Broadband Network with Huawei’s 4G/LTE Solutions


Huawei, a leader in providing next-generation telecommunications network solutions for operators around the world, and TeliaSonera, the largest telecoms operator in Scandinavia and the Baltic countries, today jointly announced the deployment of the world’s first LTE commercial network in Oslo, Norway. These 4G services offer maximum speeds of up to 100 Mb/s and are approximately 10 times faster than existing 3G networks.

TeliaSonera’s customers will be the first in the world to enjoy simultaneous mobile broadband services such as high definition (HD) video conferencing in mobile environments and a variety of HD video programs via multiple terminal devices; applications that cannot be realized in current 3G networks.

Mr. Kenneth Karlberg, President and Head of Mobility Services TeliaSonera, said: “We are very proud to be the first operator in the world to offer our customers 4G services. Thanks to the successful cooperation with Huawei, we can offer 4G to our customers in Oslo earlier than originally planned.”

As a leading provider of end-to-end 4G/LTE solutions, Huawei delivered both network infrastructures and services to TeliaSonera, such as access network, core network, operation support system, and network planning and optimization. Its field proven fourth-generation base stations and SAE (System Architecture Evolution) solution ensure the stability of the network and enable fast deployment.

Yu Chengdong, President of Huawei Europe, said: “In partnership with TeliaSonera, Huawei began this journey eleven months ago to introduce the world’s most advanced mobile broadband technology to the residents of Oslo. This milestone, which was achieved in a short period of time, reflects Huawei’s unwavering commitment towards accelerating the commercialization of LTE/SAE solutions. Operators such as TeliaSonera, are now able to to fully realize economic benefits from the many new applications that can only be made possible with ultra broadband services.”

To date, Huawei has constructed over 25 LTE commercial and trial networks and has made more than 3,300 LTE/SAE contributions to 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project).
About Huawei

Huawei is a leader in providing next generation telecommunications networks, and now serves 36 of the world’s top 50 operators, along with over one billion users worldwide. The company is committed to providing innovative and customized products, services and solutions to create long-term value and growth potential for its customers.